The Fortress of Poenari is located on a steep peak, at the entrance to the Cheile Argeșului. The fortress dates from the beginning of the 14th century, being restored by the ruler Vlad Tepeș (Vlad the Impaler) in the middle of the 15th century. The fortress is mentioned for the first time in a document issued by Ludovic V, in which the Hungarian king asks the people from Sibiu to carry out repairs in order to use the fortress as a point of resistance against the Turks. The fortress is 4 km away from the Vidraru dam, at the top of the Cetatuia mountain. The fortress can be reached by climbing 1480 concrete steps that meander through a beech forest. Poenari Fortress, the place of refuge of Vlad Tepeș, remains today an almost inaccessible fortress. The fortress was the last refuge of the ruler before leaving for Transylvania. It was one of the fortifications that contributed to the final victory of the Romanians in 1462. To Vlad Tepeș, it is worth the delay for at least seven decades coming of Ottoman armies to south-central Europe. A legend about the this fortress, known as Râul Doamnei, speaks of the ruler's wife, who knew that the Turks were near and feeling that she had no escape, climbed the sub-arenas from the river Argeș and shouted to the soldiers that she preferred to die. Then the lady of the country threw herself into the precipice, her body crushed by the rocks watered by the water of the river. The place where she fell was reddened due to the blood of the lady, this being visible nowadays. Maybe you saw this scene of this legend in the movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula” directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1992. You can visit this magic place every day between 9 AM and 3 PM. You should be aware of wild animals, especially bears that are walking all over the place. They are guardians of the fortress.
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